Rick Perry’s potential 2016 GOP rivals on Saturday rushed to the Texas governor’s defense in the wake of his indictment on allegations of abusing his office.

Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal and former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush all came out in strong defense of Perry, who on Saturday said he would fight the “farce” indictment.

Cruz, who previously served as a top lawyer for the Lone Star State, blasted the prosecution as “politically motivated” and lit into what he deemed as the “sad history” of the prosecutors, a reference to previous legal efforts aimed at Texas Republicans.

“Unfortunately, there has been a sad history of the Travis County District Attorney’s Office engaging in politically-motivated prosecutions, and this latest indictment of the governor is extremely questionable,” Cruz said in a statement. “The Texas Constitution gives the governor the power to veto legislation, and a criminal indictment predicated on the exercise of his constitutional authority is, on its face, highly suspect.”

Bush, a politician with sharply contrasting ideological stances from the firebrand Cruz, echoed the senator’s description of the legal action as “politically motivated.”

“Ridiculous. Major overreach and an encroachment on his veto authority,” Bush tweeted.

Jindal, too, harshly described Perry’s indictment as a “blatant misuse of the judicial system by liberal activists who couldn’t defeat him at the polls.”

The backup didn’t go unnoticed: Perry thanked both Cruz and Bush for their support on Twitter.

An aide to Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.), who clashed with Perry over foreign policy in July, declined comment.

Perry is accused of seeking illegal political retribution after defiant Travis County District Attorney Rosemary Lehmberg, a Democrat, refused to step down following a drunken driving arrest.

Perry threatened to zero-out funding for the state’s public integrity unit if Lehmberg did not resign; she didn’t, and Perry made good on his veto threat. On Friday, a grand jury indicted Perry — drawing jeers from the GOP for the county prosecutors.

The backing of such a diverse spectrum of prominent Republicans highlights the stern, party-wide defense of the governor, with many Republicans criticizing Perry’s prosecution rather than distancing themselves from the longtime Texas governor by questioning his behavior

“Rick Perry is a friend, he’s a man of integrity — I am proud to stand with Rick Perry,” Cruz said.